WPR24LA085

Factual narrative

On February 11, 2024, about 1035 Pacific standard time, an Evektor-Aerotechnik Harmony LSA, N377YG, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Santa Ana, California. The flight instructor sustained serious injuries and the student pilot sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. According to a flight instructor that witnessed the accident, a transport category airplane had touched down on runway 20R at the John Wayne/Orange County Airport (SNA), Santa Ana, California, about 30 seconds before the accident airplane descended over airport property just north of runway 20L. The witness stated that as the airplane was about 50 ft above ground level (agl) it appeared to be landing on runway 20L, when it entered an aggressive right roll and descended rapidly into terrain. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the fuselage, both wings, and the empennage were substantially damaged. About 14 minutes after the accident, recorded weather conditions at SNA showed that the wind was calm. Preliminary review of recorded air traffic control communications revealed that the tower controller issued the pilots of the accident airplane a caution about wake turbulence from the transport category airplane, which was acknowledged by the student pilot. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

• — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Instructor/check pilot
• — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Turbulence-Wake turbulence-Effect on equipment
• — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-(general)-Incorrect use/operation
• — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Instructor/check pilot